1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a miniaturization of a receiver/decoder for use in, for example, a flight deflection measurement system. An optical flight deflection measurement system is able to measure deflection or movement of an aircraft wing relative to the fuselage of the aircraft. This is done by employing, for example, light emitting diodes (LED's) as targets on the wing surface and receivers mounted on the fuselage.
When applying this technology to a spin measurement system (SMS), a radio control system must be added so that a wireless communication link is established between a free spinning model within a wind tunnel proper, receivers and a control unit mounted about the periphery of the wind tunnel. The spin model must then act as the container for not only the LEDs, but must also house a receiver/decoder which will provide the necessary control and sequencing commands required by the spin model. Because of the small volume available for the mounting of components in the spin model, the decoder components are micro-miniaturized and mounted on the receiver to form a single integral unit. This unit is then mounted on the spin model. The micro-miniaturized components are able to perform in a spin measurement system (SMS), and also retain a previously established control surface actuation function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical flight deflection measurement systems (FDMS) have been developed which are able to measure deflection or movement of aircraft wings relative to the fuselage in a spin tunnel environment. Optical systems must be employed in order to preserve a model's ability to spin freely within the confines of a wind tunnel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,568 teaches an electro-optical sensor for retaining accuracy and reliability of a target tracking system. Prior art FDMS employ constant current target drive assemblies hard wired to targets (LEDs). This provides a disadvantage that, in a spin measurement system, commands from a control unit cannot be relayed to a model via a hard wired interface without impeding the measurements to be performed by the spin measurement system, thereby making the system unreliable. In addition, prior art systems are large and have substantial weight and volume.